Communication Etiquette - MAC105

On other episodes of the Managing A Career podcast, I tend to focus on the big-picture strategies that can propel your career forward—things like building influence, earning visibility, and positioning yourself for future opportunities. But advancement isn’t just about the major moves. Sometimes, it’s the subtle, everyday actions that shape how others perceive you. This week, I want to zoom in on one of those seemingly small details that won’t directly earn you a promotion, but will absolutely impact the impression you leave on colleagues, managers, and executives: communication etiquette. While you may build friendships at work, most colleagues are focused on getting their tasks done and moving on to the next priority. That means the way you communicate can either support their productivity—or unintentionally disrupt it. Poor communication habits, even small ones, can cause you to be seen as annoying, distracting, or inconsiderate. On the other hand, mastering clear and efficient communication signals respect for others’ time and attention. Over time, that respect translates into stronger working relationships, greater credibility, and an overall reputation as someone people want to work with. So what exactly do I mean by communication etiquette? Let’s start with a classic example. Someone messages you on your company’s internal chat tool and simply types “Hi”… and then waits. Now you’re left wondering—do you stop what you’re doing to respond, or do you ignore it and keep working? Your decision probably depends on who it is. If it’s your boss, you’ll likely pause everything to reply. If it’s someone you barely know, chances are you’ll hold off until you’ve finished your task. Now flip the scenario. When you need something, how do you open that conversation? Do you set the context right away, or do you leave the other person hanging? These small choices—how you start, how you respond, how you respect the other person’s time—are exactly what falls under the umbrella of communication etiquette. No matter the medium—chat, email, or even a quick stop by someone’s desk—the goal of good communication etiquette is to minimize disruption. It’s fine to start with a brief greeting, but you should quickly move into the context of your request. Dropping just a “Hi” in chat leaves the other person guessing—Is this urgent? Is it a quick question? Is it a major problem? That uncertainty forces them to pause and wonder instead of continuing their work. By including context up front, you give them clarity: how urgent the matter is, how much of their time you’ll need, and what information they might need to prepare before fully engaging in the conversation. That small adjustment can be the difference between being seen as considerate and efficient—or frustrating and vague. Of course, communication etiquette isn’t one-size-fits-all. How you approach a peer, a manager, an executive—or even a direct report—should look very different. With peers, there’s usually more room for informality, but clarity and efficiency still matter. When speaking with your manager, context becomes even more important—they need enough information to make quick decisions without having to drag details out of you. And with executives, brevity is king. They don’t have the bandwidth for long explanations or back-and-forth messages. The faster you can give them the key point, the decision required, or the action needed, the more respect you earn. The dynamic shifts again when you’re a manager communicating with your team. Something as simple as sending, “Can we chat?” to a direct report can create unnecessary stress. Without context, their mind may immediately jump to the worst-case scenario—Am I in trouble? Am I about to be fired?—when all you really wanted was a quick project update. Providing a short explanation, like “Can we chat for 5 minutes about the client presentation?” removes that anxiety and creates psychological safety. As a leader, this kind of clarity not only improves communication efficiency but also builds trust, which pays dividends in team morale and performance. In spite of good intentions, many professionals fall into communication traps that waste time and damage credibility. In email, vague subject lines like “Quick Question” force recipients to open the message just to understand the context. On chat, sending multiple short messages instead of a single, well-structured one can feel like a flood of interruptions. In meetings, inviting too many people—or failing to set an agenda—leaves participants wondering why their time was taken. And perhaps the most common error of all: failing to tailor your message to your audience, whether that means overwhelming an executive with unnecessary detail or leaving a direct report anxious with too little context. These small mistakes add up, and over time, they shape how ...